Catapult Film Fund is an international grant based in San Francisco that supports early-stage documentary projects, focusing on research and development phases. For 2025, the application period is open from August 6 to September 8, 2025. Applicants must submit a letter of intent with a clear project description and sample audiovisual materials.
Winners receive funding to advance their projects and personalized virtual mentorship over several months. Although open to filmmakers worldwide, those outside the U.S. require a U.S.-based fiscal sponsor. Results are announced in late October or early 2026.
There is no in-person event for selected filmmakers, but remote support is provided. Catapult Film Fund is a valuable opportunity for nonfiction filmmakers seeking creative and financial backing in the early stages of their documentaries.
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Catapult Film Fund
The main objective is to promote direct contact between Latin American series projects and those from the rest of the world in the development stage with professionals from the audiovisual industry, producers and platforms and other people responsible for the creation of episodic content from all over the world.
A maximum of 10 projects will be selected. Projects must have the bible of their project developed and the pilot chapter of their series. Projects that have the teaser of their project can also participate. The maximum duration of the pilot chapters must be 50 minutes.
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MDM Film Festival - Pilot Chapter
The BIFF LAB call is aimed at Ibero-American fiction feature film projects in an advanced development stage. It supports creative teams composed of a director and a producer linked to production companies with at least three years of experience and a solid portfolio.
The event will take place in Bogotá, Colombia, from October 9 to 11, 2025, during the Bogota International Film Festival. Selected projects will participate in workshops, personalized mentoring, and meetings with industry experts to boost their development, co-production, and international visibility.
Applications are free and must be submitted exclusively through the official platform, including project details, participant profiles, timeline, and financing plan. Participants must speak Spanish and attend all event activities.
BIFF LAB provides selected participants with airfare, accommodation, and accreditation, but does not cover per diems or meals. The call opens August 11 and closes August 23, 2025, with results announced on August 29.
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BIFF LAB
The International “Cinema Povero” Film Festival is open to everybody: rich film-makers, poor film-makers of any gender or religion all welcome provided they have developed a beautiful, original idea on a limited budget
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CINEMA POVERO - GUIÓN
The WMMINTL Script Competition 2026 is an international short film screenplay contest organized within the We Make Movies ecosystem. The submission deadline is June 21, 2026, and it is associated with a festival taking place from November 7 to November 10, 2026. It is open to global applicants with no nationality restrictions and focuses exclusively on fiction projects.
The competition accepts short film scripts with a maximum length of 30 pages. Selected works go through an evaluation process that leads to five finalists, whose screenplays are performed as live table reads during the festival. Winners are then selected from these finalists during the event.
The program falls under a screenplay competition format within the independent film industry, emphasizing live script readings as part of its showcase structure.
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WMMINTL - Script Competition